Harvest Moon Exhibition
Sarah Spencer’s exhibition of her latest works of art are inspired by the colourful and changeable season of autumn. With the harvest moon – the big, golden orb near enough to touch as the centrepiece of the exhibition, there was much to explore.
From the exhibition
“A Harvest Moon’s proximity to the September equinox means that it also rises around sunset for several evenings in succession, creating extra light for farmers working outside. This means the bright, fuller lunar phases appear at approximately similar times, reliably lighting the way to collect the harvest.
Indeed, it was the abundance of bright early-evening moonlight on those consecutive days that traditionally lit the fields for collecting the crops of corn, squash, and beans before the first frost.
The name is a working name, not a poetic one. Before electricity reached the farm, the only light after sunset came from a lantern, a candle, or the Moon. A full Moon close to the equinox rose near sundown for several evenings running, hung low over the eastern horizon for hours, and turned the cropland into something that could still be worked. Corn, pumpkins, squash, and beans were ready or close to it. Frost was on the way. Every extra hour of bright moonlight was a real one: another row picked, another wagon filled, another day’s harvest moved from field to barn.”
“The Corn King
The cutting of corn has been anthropomorphised in stories and songs where the cutting of wheat symbolises the sacrifice of John Barleycorn, the Barley Man or the Corn King. Only in the killing of the Corn King can we live, and he can complete the cycle of death and rebirth. In most stories, the Corn King is reborn at Winter Solstice to grow and mature again throughout the year.”
With thanks to J.S. Morgane for lyrics and translation.
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